The 11th edition of Defence Expo, a biennial event organized by the Ministry of Defence, will conclude today in the northern city of Lucknow. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will preside the valedictory session this afternoon, reports stated. However, the Expo will remain open for the general masses for 24 hours, starting from today afternoon.

This year’s Defence Expo witnessed participation of three aerospace giants including, Airbus SE and US-based Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co.

On Friday, over 200 partnerships involving the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs), Transfer of Technology and Product took place on the third day of DefExpo 2020 at a ceremony titled Bandhan.

These pacts were aimed at forging and renewing partnerships for innovative collaboration and transformation of defence manufacturing in the country.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed the signing of MoUs as a step in the direction to achieve Prime Minister’s $5 billion defence export target in the next 5 years.

“The Defence PSUs and Indian defence private industry were better placed today to lead India as the emerging research and development hub of the world leveraging the sharp minds of Indian youth,” Singh said.

“The liberalised licensing regime brought out by the government would surely attract large investments by both Indian and global companies,” the minister stressed.

The Bandhan ceremony witnessed more than 13 product launches, 124 MoUs between DPSUs, private and global defence manufacturing companies. A total 23 MoUs were signed between the UP government and private companies.

Meanwhile, Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary, said this DefExpo would be remembered for many firsts — including for the signing of largest number of MoUs, transfer of technology and product launches.

During the ceremony, a major announcement in the form of issuing the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) certificate of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was issued to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). LUH is designed and developed as a replacement for Cheetah & Chetak helicopters which are currently being operated by Indian armed forces.

LUH is a new generation helicopter in its class, incorporating the state-of-the-art technology features which will meet the emerging needs in this class of helicopters in the coming decades.

(With input from agencies)